Yuk Yuk's is a national

comedy club A comedy club is a venue—typically a nightclub, bar, hotel, casino, or restaurant—where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, impressionists, magicians, ventriloquist ...

chain in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, founded by former

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

comedian

Mark Breslin Mark Breslin, is a Canadian entrepreneur, producer, stand-up comedian and actor best known for being the co-founder (along with Joel Axler) of Yuk Yuk's, the largest chain of comedy clubs in Canada. On December 29, 2017, he was appointed a Me ...

and established in 1976 by Breslin and long-time friend Joel Axler. The company is currently run by Breslin and his long-time partner and president Jeff Silverman. The head office is located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. Currently there are nine Yuk Yuk's Comedy Clubs in three provinces across Canada. Yuk Yuk's primarily uses talent under exclusive contract to its in-house agency, Funny Business Talent Inc., but it also books popular American stand-up comics to tour their clubs from coast to coast.

Creation 1976-1986

The first Yuk Yuk's shows were held on Wednesday nights in 1976 in the basement of The 519 Church Street Community Centre on Church Street, downtown Toronto. After two years Breslin and Axler opened their first full-time location at 1280 Bay Street on March 14, 1978. In 1984 Breslin opened his second location in the nation's capital,

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. Ottawa comics and comedy fans flocked to the only comedy club in the city (originally at the Beacon Arms Hotel, now known as Capitol Hill Suites), with their first headliner, Mike MacDonald. In that same year Yuk Yuk's Hamilton was opened at the Connaught Hotel with Donny Coy headlining. By 1986 Breslin had successfully opened two more locations in Niagara Falls, Ontario and Mississauga, Ontario.

1987-1998

From the late 1980s throughout the late 1990s Breslin was able to open two Yuk Yuk's comedy clubs out west in Edmonton and Calgary as well as three in Ontario, Sudbury (with comedian Chris Hawes), Ajax and London.

1999-2007

By 1999 Yuk Yuk's had grown to having nine comedy clubs across Canada. In 2000, Yuk Yuk's had created the Search for Canada's Funniest New Comic with Adam West. In 2006 Breslin along with Silverman created a comedy contest called the Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off which aired on the Comedy Network. The national comedy contest showcased 64 comedians with 1 winner receiving $25,000, Canada's largest comedy cash prize. The Laugh Off became an annual event running from 2006 to 2011 with 6 winners and a total of $150,000 in comedian winnings. By 2007 Breslin added clubs in Kitchener Ontario, Vancouver British Columbia, Halifax Nova Scotia and Vaughan Ontario.

2008-Present

In 2009, Breslin opened the second Yuk Yuk's comedy club in Ottawa. Smaller than the original Ottawa club, the Prescott room was designed more for the open mic audience and comedians. In 2010, Yuk Yuk's Oakville opened with headliner Glen Foster. The club closed in 2012. The current Yuk Yuk's are located in the following cities:

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

, Halifax, Burlington,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popu ...

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Programming

* ''Peoples Comedy Festival'' - Host

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...

– 1992 Aired on the Comedy Network * ''Yuk Yuk's 25th Anniversary'' - 2000, shot in Ottawa National Art's Centre aired on the Comedy Network, hosted by

Howie Mandel Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian-American comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel voiced the character Gizmo in the 1984 film '' Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch''. ...

, featuring

Harland Williams Harland Michael Williams (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. After several years of stand-up in Toronto and Los Angeles he made his film debut in ''Dumb and Dumber'' (1994) before playing starring roles in the short ...

Jeremy Hotz Jeremy Hotz (born May 31, 1965) is a Canadian–American actor and stand-up comedian. Hotz won a Gemini Award for his role on the television series '' The Newsroom'' in 1997. He has appeared on ''Comedy Central Presents'', the Just For Laughs co ...

, Mike Bullard,

Pat Bullard Patrick Bullard (born February 6, 1959) is a Canadian television writer and comedian. Biography Born in Mississauga, Ontario, Bullard wrote for such sitcoms as ''Roseanne'', '' Reba'', '' Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place'', ''Grace Under Fire'' ...

Derek Edwards Derek Edwards (born 1958) is a Canadian stand-up comedian and actor from Timmins, Ontario. He went to Timmins High and Vocational School. In 1995, he was the winner of the Vail National Comedy Invitational in Vail, Colorado. He is the only Ca ...

Shaun Majumder Shaun Vincent Majumder (born January 29, 1972) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for his role on '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes,'' where he worked from 2003 until 2018. He won a Gemini Award for his work on the series in 2006. Earl ...

, Mike MacDonald and many others. * ''Mondo Taboo'' - 1999 - Aired on Viewer's Choice * ''Canada's Search'' - 2001- Host Adam West "Batman" Aired on

The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy and formerly known as The Comedy Network) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming. The channel first launched on Octob ...

* ''Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off'' 2006 - Winner Jeff McEnery, Aired on the Comedy Network * ''Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off'' 2007- Winner Paul Myrehuag- Aired on the Comedy Network * ''Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off'' 2008- Winner Graham Clark, Aired on the Comedy Network * ''Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off'' 2009 - Winner Mark Little, Aired on the Comedy Network * ''Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off'' 2010 - Winner Tom Dustin, Aired on the Comedy Network * ''Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off'' 2011 - Winner Mark DeBonis, Aired on the Comedy Network * ''The Yukin' Funny Comedy Show'', Season 1 - 2011- Aired on

Bite TV Makeful (formerly known as BiteTV) is a Canadian pay television channel owned by Blue Ant Media. It has transmittered from 299 Queen Street West since at least 2012. The channel was first launched on March 5, 2005, as BiteTV, and primarily aired ...

* ''The Yukin' Funny Comedy Show'', Season 2 - 2012- Aired on Bite TV

Publications

*Zen and Now (Somerville House) 1985- Mark Breslin *Son of a Meech (Random House) 1991 - Mark Breslin *Control Freaked (Insomniac Press) 2002 - Mark Breslin *Yuk Yuk's Guide to Stand Up Comedy (HarperCollins, audio book) 2009 – Mark Breslin *Rarities and Road Worriors (HarperCollins, audio book) 2011 – Mark Breslin *Funny Business (Burman Books) 2012 – Jeff Silverman

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website

Funny Business

Yuk Yuk's Great Canadian Laugh Off
Comedy clubs in Canada Companies based in Toronto